Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber revealed that serious talks are underway to bring his long-running 1981 hit musical Cats to the screen. The musical is poised to make a London return this December.

Andrew Lloyd Webber
Photo by Aubrey Reuben

"There is considerable talk at last about Cats being made into a movie so it gives me a chance to think about the material and how that can happen," Lloyd Webber told Reuters. Universal Pictures, which holds the film rights to the musical, has been considering creating a film version of Cats.

The production was previously filmed live on stage and released in 2000.

Lloyd Webber characterizes the upcoming London return as a "second edition," and that he plans to give it "a little bit of a re-think." As previously reported, Lloyd Webber revealed that the character of Rum Tum Tugger will be a rapping street cat in the new version. Cats begins Dec. 6 at the London Palladium for a 12-week run.

Based on T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats," the musical became an international phenomenon and has continuously toured the U.S. for 30 years in various union and non-union productions. In 1991 Cats became the longest-running continuous tour in U.S. history. Cats produced the stand-out single "Memory."

Cats opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre Oct. 7, 1982, where it ran for 7,485 performances before closing Sept. 10, 2000. It held the title of Broadway's longest-running musical, but was surpassed by Lloyd Webber's other hit, The Phantom of the Opera, which currently holds the title. Cats won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Lighting and Best Costumes.